" If someone can grow switch grass as a crop without irrigation, without
cultivation, without energy inputs that exceed the yield, great. I am all for
it."
Switchgrass already grows spontaneously as part of a diverse assemblage of
plants (which are also biomass...). Regular harvesting, in many places where
the natural fire regime is suppressed, will prevent woody encroachment and keep
wildflower diversity high (thus benefiting pollinators).
A better option would be spontaneously occurring Johnson grass, an exotic
species, which grows rampantly along thousands of miles of county roads in the
southern and midwestern states. Regular harvests will promote diversity. No
question about high productivity. Whether or not you control the exotic, there
will still be high productivity of herbaceous vegetation. You don't have to
worry about transportation networks being in place...
This is what I call the wildfuels concept: harvest spontaneously-occurring
fuels (whether native or not) where such harvesting will enhance ecosystem
services.
---Mike Palmer
